Next Move, Best Move

Chapter 3Core Values Are the Essence of What Make You Happy

Career Affirmation: I am attracting a workplace that aligns with my core values.

Whenever I interact with current students, undergraduate or graduate, I always share that internships are beneficial for two main reasons:

1. Internships confirm you are on the right track of applying your academic knowledge to the workplace because you enjoy your experience.
2. Internships confirm that the hands‐on experience you're gaining is not a great fit and you may need to go back to the drawing board in the classroom or try a different work setting next semester.

The same is true of any work environment, role, and company, even if you are no longer a student. Each experience will teach you something about yourself, and it's okay when something isn't the “best fit.”

During my time as a personal banker, I quickly learned what “sparked joy” and what did not. During the three‐plus months of training with aspiring bankers, I enjoyed the camaraderie of the training environment in a remote office location in Long Island, New York. We buckled down in the training center and studied for our financial services licenses for seven hours a day. We had a strict hour for lunch, and then we went right back to hitting the books. In hindsight, this was like a college environment but with a much more regimented schedule. I recall studying daily with Jose and a group of two other potential bankers. Each day, we arrived at the training center and manually ...